South Korea women's basketball routs Indonesia by 42, sets up China semifinal clash

South Korea's women's basketball team crushed Indonesia to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Coached by Director Park Su-ho, South Korea defeated Indonesia 101-59 in the women's basketball quarterfinal at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on Thursday.

The team had swept through Group C unbeaten — beating Malaysia, Mongolia and Chinese Taipei in succession — and extended that run to four straight wins with Thursday's quarterfinal victory. The result also kept alive Korea's record of reaching the semifinals at every Asian Games since women's basketball was first introduced at the 1974 Tehran Games.

Korea seized control from the opening tip with sharp three-point shooting. Leading 17-11 in the first quarter, Kang I-seul and Heo Ye-eun hit back-to-back threes, with Choi I-saem adding another from beyond the arc. Six three-pointers in the first quarter alone pushed the lead to 28-18.

Korea kept up the pressure in the second quarter and took a 52-30 lead into halftime. A brief scoring lull early in the third quarter allowed Indonesia to creep closer, but Korea responded with eight straight points from a 59-40 deficit and stretched the gap to 71-43 on a buzzer-beater by Kang I-seul. To open the fourth quarter, Jin An, Choi I-saem and Jeong Hyeon combined for seven consecutive points to put the result beyond doubt.

Scoring was spread across the entire roster. Choi I-saem led all scorers with 16 points and five rebounds, while Jin An contributed 12 points and six assists and Lee So-hee added 12 points and five rebounds. Jeong Hyeon also chipped in 12 points, Heo Ye-eun finished with 11 points and eight assists, and Kang I-seul scored 11.

Korea's semifinal opponent is China, the most decorated team in the event's history with seven titles and the defending champion after back-to-back wins at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games. Korea faces China on Friday for a place in the final.

Korea is chasing its fifth all-time gold medal in the event, having previously won in 1978, 1990, 1994 and 2014. The team has claimed a medal at every Asian Games except a fourth-place finish at the 2006 Doha Games. The women's side now follows the men's team in bidding to reclaim the top of the podium for the first time in 12 years.